High heat and humidity arriving in Minnesota just in time for summer’s start

Summer officially arrives Friday night, and it’s bringing dangerous heat with it.

The Twin Cities and most of Minnesota is under an excessive heat watch for Saturday as temperatures are predicted to soar into the 90s over the weekend and record high readings are possible, the National Weather Service said.

Add in the humidity and it may feel over 100 degrees, the Weather Service said.

Nighttime lows in the 70s to near 80 degrees Saturday and Sunday will offer little relief from the heat, the Weather Service added.

“Heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events,” the Weather Service said in issuing the watch in effect from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening.

Temperatures in the 90s are hardly uncommon for June, but the burst of heat threatens to break a Twin Cities record that has stood for 115 years. The mark to beat on Saturday is 95; the Weather Service is forecasting 93 degrees.

Sunday will be just as hot with a high of 94 degrees predicted in the metro area, but that won’t likely be enough to smash the record for June 22, which was 98 degrees set in 1911.

But anybody out and about will feel what should be the hottest day of the year so far and the toastiest since the mercury touched 92 degrees on Aug. 26, 2024.

The Bloomington Family Aquatic Center is opening just in time for the heat. The large pool with water slides and an aqua climbing wall was supposed to have opened a little over a week ago, but it sprung a leak.

“The repairs are now complete, and the pool has been refilled,” an email sent to subscribers signed up to get city news read. “Come join us.”

As Minnesota bakes under a sun that will deliver 15 hours, 36 minutes and 51 seconds of daylight and reach its highest point in the sky on Friday, the Weather Service reminded people to drink plenty of fluids and find relief in air-conditioned places.

It could be worse. An unusual snowstorm will hit western Montana at the peak of tourist season. It’s poised to drop up to a foot of snow in the upper elevations, and 4 inches on the floor of Glacier National Park, the Weather Service’s Billings office said.

While snow isn’t in the forecast for Minnesota, thankfully, a cool down is on the way for next week. By Tuesday and Wednesday, the mercury may barely touch 70 degrees in the Twin Cities, the Weather Service said.